Who Knew???

Thailand celebrates National Forest Conservation Day (Wan Anurak Sappayakon Pa Mai Khong Chat) on January 14 each year. It was on 14 January 1989 that His Majesty the King signed executive decrees seeking to amend the 1941 National Forest Reserve Act and the 1961 National Park Act. The two executive decrees empowered the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives to order the termination of logging concessions, as a result of severe floods in southern Thailand in November 1988. At that time, Krathun subdistrict in Phipun district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, was hard hit by disastrous flooding caused partly by forest destruction.

In order to raise public awareness of the importance of forest conservation to prevent natural disasters, the Cabinet designated January 14 each year National Forest Conservation Day.

Global warming has been increasingly evident in recent years, bringing about environmental impacts in the form of drought and flooding in many parts of the world. A decline in forested areas is one of the causes of this problem. When forests are destroyed, levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere and the process of global warming begins.

Realizing that tree planting is essential to combat global warming, the Royal Forest Department has called for a halt to deforestation and urged Thai people to plant more trees to absorb carbon dioxide and provide oxygen. Trees can have an important cooling effect in populated areas, where their shade may reduce energy consumption from the use of air-conditioners in offices and households. Tree planting is considered an effective way to increase green areas at a low cost.

Thanks for the images and information to:
thailand.prd.go.th; wikipedia.org; keithtalbot.co.uk; green-organic-world.com; nature.org; imgstocks.com; forestry.ky.gov; arcworld.org; 123rf.com; worldheritages.info; wcs.org; pattfoundation.org